Blood's Thicker Than
by obsessed1
Summary: Jeannie Miller and Dave Sheppard end up trapped together and they don't know that their brothers know each other. An appearance from John and Rodney!


Dave Sheppard had woken in the middle of the night to hear a window breaking downstairs. He had scrambled out of bed and reached for his cell phone. He only managed two digits before the bedroom door burst open.

When he woke again he was lying in a room he didn't recognise with a woman he had never seen before. She was kicking the door. When she noticed he was awake, she stopped and turned to him. She smiled briefly before resuming her futile attack.

"Doesn't look like that's going to budge."

She ignored him.

"Who are you?" Dave asked. He rubbed at his head and when he looked at his fingertips they were coated with blood. "I'm bleeding?"

"It's superficial," the woman told him. "I uh…checked it while you were out for the count. Nothing a Band-Aid wouldn't fix." She smiled nervously. "I'm Jeannie, by the way."

Dave looked her up and down. She had a mass of blond curly hair. She was wearing stripy pyjamas, a pink lacy camisole and a knitted cardigan over the top which she tugged tight around her neck when she saw him looking at her. She was also wearing slippers that had rabbits on them.

"And you are?" she asked inquisitively.

He stood up and offered his hand. "Dave."

Keeping one hand securing her cardigan, she took the proffered hand and held it awkwardly.

"Where are we?" Dave asked.

He scanned the room. It was a dim, grey box with one bulb hanging from the ceiling. There were no windows and only the one door. _Said_ door, was obviously locked from the outside.

"I don't know," Jeannie admitted with a deflated sigh. "I was down in the kitchen getting a glass of water for Maddie and the next thing I know, I was waking up here. What about you?"

"Heard a sound in the middle of the night. Went to investigate and I woke up here," Dave looked down at his bare feet, sweat pants and white t-shirt. This was…_awkward_. "Where are we?"

"No idea."

"Right…"

"So, what's your degree in?" Jeannie asked.

She was remarkably calm for somebody that had been kidnapped in the middle of the night. She waited expectantly for him to answer.

"What's yours in?" Dave asked, unsure as to the relevance of such a question.

"Physics," she told him. "And you?"

"I don't have a degree."

Jeannie appeared to be disappointed. "Oh. Why not?"

Dave didn't know what to make of this woman. He half entertained the notion that she might be a little insane. After all, surely that wasn't a normal question to ask in this kind of situation. Not that he'd ever been in this situation before.

"Not all of us have a burning desire to get a degree. Not all of us have the chance either," he told her in a clipped tone.

"I didn't mean to imply that you were some kind of idiot," Jeannie laughed nervously.

Dave saw the sincerity in her eyes and felt a little guilty at answering in the way he had. By way of apology he offered her an explanation. "My brother was supposed to take on the family business. He took off one day and that responsibility fell on me."

"So you're a businessman?" Jeannie's lips twisted. She looked confused. "So, why are you here?"

"I don't know," Dave gestured to the room. "I'm just as bewildered as you are."

"Well, you have to be here for a reason," Jeannie turned back to the door.

"What do you mean _I have to be here for a reason?_ Why do you think you're here?"

"My degree."

"Oh."

"Tell me about your business."

Dave couldn't help but chuckle. "Surely we should be trying to find a way out of here."

"The door's locked."

"Okay, then we should be trying to figure out why we're here."

"That's what I'm doing."

"You are?"

"Yes, so your business?"

Dave stared at her.

"Yes, yes," Jeannie smiled. "I'm nosy. I know."

Dave went and sat at the furthest wall. He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his arms over this chest. "We breed and train horses."

"Do you breed them in any special way?" Jeannie came to sit beside him. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to invade his space. "Are you using any new technology?"

Dave raised his eyebrows. "No. We do it the _usual_ way."

"Hmmm." Jeannie pushed her wild hair behind her ears and nodded. "So you're not here for your brains-"

"Hey!"

"-and you can't be here because of horses. That doesn't make sense. Perhaps you stumbled across something you shouldn't have-"

"Now _wait_." Dave held a hand up to stall her. "What is it that you think is happening here?"

Jeannie went quiet.

"I haven't seen anything. I haven't done anything." Dave sighed. "I _am_ buying out a business that will damage a rival's stake in the market though. Do you think that's-"

Jeannie screwed her face up and shook her head.

Dave could see that she was thinking. He could practically hear the cogs turning. Okay, she had a point. There had to be a reason why they were both brought here.

"Are you rich?" Jeannie asked suddenly.

Dave was about to blurt out that that _really_ wasn't any of her business, but he finally got it. "You think they want my money?"

"Maybe," Jeannie's eyes lit up. "Maybe they have a project they want you to fund and me to run."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Jeannie was drumming her fingers against her leg. Dave was obsessing that he wasn't going to make that big meeting in the morning. He figured that was screwed up. He should have been worrying about where he was and what their captors intended to do with them.

"How long do you think we've been in here?"

Jeannie consulted her watch. "I was in the kitchen at nine and it's now five o'clock in the morning."

"Eight hours! We've been here for _eight_ hours."

Jeannie shook her head. "You've been here for around four hours."

"My meeting is in two hours."

Dave leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. _Four _hours.

That would have left Jeannie here all alone for the other four hours. He opened one eye. Jeannie didn't seem traumatised. She was looking up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes and still drumming those fingers.

"Did you see who brought you here?"

"No," Jeannie sighed. "What about you?"

"All I saw was the floor coming up to meet my face." Dave rubbed his sore head.

"You really should leave that alone. You'll stop the blood from clotting properly."

Dave stilled his hand. "I'm fine." Although his pounding headache didn't exactly give that argument gravity.

Dave carefully scanned the room. It was a concrete box; cold and with little character. There was a grate in the middle of the steel door that reminded him of prisons. He wondered if anyone would slide it open and peer through. His stomach grumbled. Or pass them some food.

"Who's Maddie?" Dave asked when he was tired of the silence.

Jeannie beamed. "My daughter. Madison. She's five."

Dave could tell that she was one of those mothers that should she have had her purse, would have thrust a picture under his nose.

"That's…nice."

"Do you have children?"

"No," Dave told her with a quick shake of his head. They were noisy, messy and took up way too much time. He was sure he'd have children eventually, but now was not the right time. Not when he had multi-million businesses and estates to run.

"You sound like my brother," Jeannie noted with an air of fondness. "He's never liked kids either."

"I didn't say I _didn't_ like them. I just don't have room for them right now." He paused. This was a really odd conversation to be having when they were both kidnapped and potentially in danger.

"That's exactly what _he_ says." she said, pointing emphatically. "I wonder if he'll ever have time,"

The silence returned and Dave started to wonder where they were. He couldn't hear any movement outside the door. "I guess we're not getting out of here anytime soon."

"Doesn't look that way," Jeannie noted. "I'm sure somebody will come along eventually. You don't just kidnap people and then leave them."

"I guess." That lead Dave to think about what would happen when somebody did come and visit them. Would they question them? Would they torture them?

"There will be people looking for us," Jeannie assured him.

Dave felt a glimmer of hope. "Did you manage to call the police before-"

Jeannie shook her head. "No."

"So, how do you know the police will be looking for us?"

"Not the police. Probably the military."

Dave stared at her again.

"When Caleb, my husband, realised I was gone he would have made the call."

Okay. She really was crazy if she thought the military might were going to waste their time looking for a businessman and a stay at home mom. Even if he did get help, they had no idea where they were. How were the police going to find them? There were procedures to follow, evidence to gather…

"Do you have any siblings?"

That wasn't a question Dave had been expecting.

"You really _are_ nosy," Dave told her.

Jeannie waved her hands around animatedly. "We're trapped here. We can't escape. What else is there to do, _but_ talk?" She was extremely pragmatic. Her reaction to this whole ordeal hadn't been what Dave was anticipating. He'd been waiting for the bravado to disappear and for out and out panic to begin. She was remaining calm under pressure. Good natured, even.

"How are we going to get out of here?" he asked finally.

"We can't. Not from this side anyway."

"Why aren't you more worried?"

"Because they'll find us."

"They?"

"Yes," she told him.

Dave didn't know how she knew that. Maybe this was the reason for composure. She had managed to convince herself that help would come. She was intent on believing her delusion. He wanted to shake her back to reality.

"I'm sure the police wouldn't have a clue where to start," he told her. After all, his car had been stolen three months ago and the Detective that had come to his door, simply stood there, scratched his head, took a few perfunctory details and then left. Dave hadn't seen his car since.

"I told you. The military will come."

"I don't think-"

"So," Jeannie tried again. "You never answered my question."

Dave didn't know what to do. She was no help. They were trapped and he sought answers. He wanted to know why he was here. Why he was here with this woman. What had he done to deserve this?

"_Please_," she urged and Dave thought he saw her self-control crumble a little. Maybe she needed this, he reasoned. Maybe she needed to talk to fill the otherwise crippling void of questions and confusion.

"What does it matter?"

Jeannie continued to stare at him and finally he relented in the hope that she wouldn't harass him any further.

"One older brother."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Dave looked up to the ceiling. If he didn't meet her gaze, she would realise that he didn't want to be pushed on this subject.

She didn't.

"Is he as much a dork as my older brother?" Her chides were affectionate, even if the tone belayed that.

Dave turned to look at her. This woman was remarkable.

"We're very different," Dave said, uncomfortable now they were on this topic. He wondered if it would be impolite to tell her to mind her own business. "Why is your brother a-"

"A dork?" Jeannie moved to sit closer and geared up for what Dave could tell was going to be a lengthy rant.

The clue was in the way she drew breath before speaking. "Meredith didn't speak to me for years when I chose to raise a family instead of pursuing an academic career. He thought I'd be wasted as a stay at home mom."

A stay at home mom with a degree in physics, who isn't fazed by kidnap scenarios. Dave shook his head.

"He's an astrophysicist too, although I think his knowledge has branched out over the last few years. But anyway." She rolled her eyes. "He disappears and then just turns up one day asking for my help and now we're talking again, _which_ is weird. There's this huge age gap between us and we didn't really like each other growing up so we're trying to start over."

Dave had listened intently. The scenario sounded familiar. There was one detail he couldn't overlook. "Meredith?"

Jeannie looked offended on her brother's behalf. "It _can_ be a boys name too. My parents were kind of-"

"Cruel?"

"Quirky," she amended.

"I had always thought Meredith was a girl's name. It's unusual that's all."

"He gets a lot of stick for it."

"I bet he does."

"Last time I saw him, I accidentally called him Meredith in front of everyone and now his best friend calls him it all the time." She was trying not to laugh. "It's not funny."

With a name like Meredith, Dave wasn't surprised. He would probably do the same thing if he got the chance.

Jeannie looked over to the door, as if she were expecting someone to arrive, and after a few seconds of staring, turned back to Dave. "So, what's your brother like?"

Dave considered his options. He could be rude and tell her where to go. But where would that lead him? They'd have to sit together in awkward silence and it was only a question. He'd never have to see this woman again. What did it matter if they talked?

"Are you not close?" Jeannie twirled her hair around a finger. "Is that it?"

"I haven't really…" he cleared his throat. "…. spoken to him much lately. I guess you could say that we were estranged up until a few months ago."

"Why's that?"

"It's complicated."

He looked away from her.

"But you met recently?" Jeannie pushed.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Dave braced himself for a disingenuous apology. "Our father died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Dave raised his eyebrows. It wasn't a hollow sounding gesture. She clearly meant it. Before Dave realised, she was reaching forward and squeezing his hand. It felt good. _Reassuring_ even. That _had_ to be the maternal instinct in her, Dave figured. She was probably a very good mother.

"It's fine," he told her and he was surprised to hear his voice hitch up.

It really wasn't. After their mother had died, he had grown close to his father. Now that he was gone, he felt strangely bereft. His departure had left an emptiness in his life that he didn't know how to fill.

"Were you close to your father?"

"Yeah," Dave answered without censoring his answer. "I was."

Jeannie's expression of grief was barely distinguishable. He didn't know if she had lost family members and he wasn't about to push her.

Finally, she cleared her throat. "So, your brother?"

"I'm not sure I'm really…comfortable-"

"Okay," Jeannie held her hands up. "That's fine. I'm sorry that I-"

"No," Dave rolled his eyes. "I just…"

Jeannie sat back against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. She stared at the door quietly and Dave felt guilty and he wasn't sure if it was because he had made her feel bad or if it was because he was refusing to talk about his brother.

Jeannie had once been estranged from her own brother and now she spoke of him with such affection. It was endearing. It also made Dave feel a little jealous. Why had they been able to bail out on their relationship for many years and ease back into it again after all those years? And why couldn't he do that with his own brother? Time was relative. Blood was… well _relative_.

Dave tried to cast his memory back. He couldn't help but chuckle. There was one incident that stuck in his mind.

"The earliest recollection I have of my brother is of him climbing a tree to help this kid back down. He was much older and probably capable of getting himself down. As I recall, my brother climbed up to help him out." He smiled. He could remember it all so clearly now. "He fell and snapped his fema in the process."

Jeannie turned back to him, intrigued now. "And the older boy?"

"Laughed and effortlessly climbed down."

"He laughed?"

"Yeah. My brother just sat there, holding his leg and he refused to cry. He just stared this kid down until he walked away."

"And then?"

"Then he threw up and cried like a baby all the way to the hospital."

"I am _so_ glad I had a girl," Jeannie told him. "Boys sound like such hard work. And they are incredibly _mean_."

Dave knew that by saying 'mean' she was probably referring to her own sibling. She seemed so gentle and….kind. He expected that trait took a severe beating as she was growing up. Boys really were mean.

She gave him a look that urged him to continue.

"Even at a young age he had this ability to put his own safety to one side. He was always getting into trouble." He laughed bitterly. He didn't know why he was telling this stranger, but it felt oddly cathartic. "And he still has a bit of a limp. He hides it by slouching a lot."

"At least he was around," Jeannie admitted. "My brother, with the age gap, never wanted to be seen with his younger sister. He hated babysitting me. He never let me in his room."

He was right. Meredith _was_ mean.

"One time, he locked me in the basement for three hours so he and his friends could watch Star Wars films. He only remembered to let me out because that's where we kept the soda."

"Really?"

"Yeah, _really_."

Dave imagined little Jeannie with wild hair sitting at the bottom of the basement steps with her head in her hands and the sounds of spaceship battles overhead.

"My brother wasn't always around," Dave informed her.

"No?"

"My father wanted him to take over the business. He was halfway through a math degree at a _very_ prestigious Ivy League college, when he announced he was going to join the Air Force. He and dad had a huge fight and I never saw him again. Not until-"

"The funeral. Ouch," Jeannie shook her head. "That must have been difficult."

"I admit I didn't handle it very well."

"Of course you didn't. Who does?"

"He didn't handle it at all." Dave sighed and rubbed at his aching head. "We talked after the wake, but it was superficial conversation. He didn't tell me what he was up to. "

"Maybe he can't talk about it."

"All he said was that it was important. He didn't elaborate."

"You know, I have a friend," Jeannie started. "He's a colonel in the Air Force. The pressure that he's under is immense. I know that he has seen and done things and-" she paused.

"That changes people. Meredith says he won't talk about it though. Maybe your brother has seen and done things too and he's trying to protect you."

Dave wondered what this colonel had done and seen to render him so silent. He wasn't oblivious to the news reports of the papers. He knew that servicemen and women were forced to go beyond comfortable limits and that war often equated to death and-

He stopped that line of thought. He didn't want to think that his brother killed or that he had witnessed death and destruction firsthand. He didn't want to imagine that his brother had become so different from the boy selflessly climbing that tree to save someone he didn't even know.

He wasn't sure how he felt about it even now. Those years of animosity were difficult to shake. "Like I said, he's always had loose morals when it comes to preserving his own life." He shook his head. "I can't help but wait for a phone call to say he's dead."

"Again, that kind of sounds like someone I know."

Dave narrowed his eyes.

"Mer's best friend-"

"The colonel?"

"Yeah. He would do anything for anyone. _Has_ done. Just a few weeks ago he stepped in the path of a bullet to save my brother."

Dave wondered if John had done that too.

"I worry about him. I think it's natural."

"Is he happy though? This friend of your brothers?"

"I think so. I think he felt kind of displaced on earth and now he has a calling."

"Earth?" Dave revised his diagnosis again. Nuts!

"I mean," she looked flustered. "That's a _figure_ of speech."

Dave smiled. _Yeah_ right.

"It's like I have two brothers now." She sighed.

"I'd just like the one," Dave told her.

Jeannie was beginning to look tired and a little resigned. "Life's too short. You never know when it could be your last minutes. If your brother came back, maybe he wants to make things right."

"You sound like you have experience of that."

She nodded, but didn't elaborate. His turn to push.

"Did something happen?"

Jeannie's eyes welled up. Not enough for tears to spill down her cheeks, but that she was upset was obvious. "Let's just say that over the last few years there have been several incidents that have educated on the fragility of life. Everything can change in the blink of an eye."

"What does your brother do?"

"He's working for the government," Jeannie provided, rubbing at her eyes.

_And he works with the military?_ Dave was confused.

"Could he have something to do with all of this?"

"I had thought he might be linked. I can't really talk about it. But it's fine because they'll find us. Mer and his team will find us."

"What the hell does your brother do? I thought you said he was an astrophysicist."

"Well he is, _was_…" she paused. "He has a small science team now."

"And he works with the military?"

"Yes. But, he's not military."

"But he has a team that will find us? Of scientists?"

"Yes. But no. It's not really his team. He's _part_ of a team. He's the only scientist on the team."

"What team?"

"Um," Jeannie looked flushed for the first time. She sighed. "He's a civilian contractor within the military and-"

"Civilian contractor?" He'd never heard that term before his brother had used it.

"Yes. What?"

"Nothing. It's just…"

"Have you thought of something?"

"Last time I saw my brother he was working with a civilian contractor. I'd never even heard of that before he said and now-"

"Did he mention if he was working for the government?"

"Yeah." Dave shifted position and realised that he was now encroaching on her personal space. "He and his friend Ronon took off halfway through the wake and-"

The cogs were turning again. Jeannie tilted her head. "You know Ronon?"

"Not really. He just came to the funeral with John."

Jeannie's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Oh, just-"

"What is it?"

"He never mentioned his father had passed away." She pursed her lips and looked a little saddened. "Now that _explains_ why he turned up at ours out of the blue."

Dave was now seriously confused. "What are you talking about?"

"What's your last name?"

"Sheppard."

"So your brother would be…_John_ Sheppard?"

"Yes."

Jeannie stood up and smiled. "You're John's brother?"

"Yes. Hang on! How do you know John?"

"He's my brother's best friend."

"Great," Dave stood to join her. "What the hell is going on?"

Jeannie's eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Her voice was slightly muffled when she said, "I can't say."

"What?" Dave took a step forward. "What can't you say?"

"How much do you know?"

"Not as much as you do, _obviously_." Dave looked to the door and realised that she really had been waiting for someone to turn up. She _really_ did know that they would be rescued. "Jeannie. _Please_."

Jeannie turned away and then did something unusual. She stamped one foot on the ground like a toddler having a tantrum and snapped. "Dammit! I cannot believe I just said that!"

Dave waited patiently for her to curse a little more before she turned to meet his eyes. "I'm going to be in so much trouble you realise."

"We're _already_ in trouble."

"Mer is going to kill me!"

Dave sighed. "Jeannie?"

"Our brothers both work for the government on a top secret project." Jeannie closed her eyes briefly. "I'm so dead."

"Jeannie."

"That's why we've been brought here. They must think that you have the AT-" she put a hand up to her mouth to stop the words spilling out. "I mean, I can't tell you."

"What? What's going on?" Dave raised his eyebrows. "Oh my - The colonel. _That's_ John!"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I wouldn't have told you those things if I had known."

"What? That he felt displaced?"

"He's fine. He's happy."

"It didn't sound that way," Dave pushed a hand through his hair and cursed when he forgot about his head wound.

"You shouldn't-"

"So he doesn't talk to anyone? Is he lonely?"

"No. Far from it."

"You said he'd done things and-" he turned away. "Has he killed people?"

When Jeannie opened her mouth to answer, Dave held a hand out.

"No... I don't want to know."

"John has incredibly support from the rest of his team. He's happy. Please believe me when I say that."

"But he stepped in front of a bullet for someone?"

"He's Mer's best friend. He'd do it for-"

"Anyone," Dave finished. He sat back down and put his head in his hands. This was all so confusing. "It's their fault that we're here?"

"Yes."

"And you've been in this situation before haven't you?"

Jeannie looked down at the floor and nodded.

"I just can't be-"

From outside the door, there was suddenly rapid gunfire. Dave jumped to his feet and pulled Jeannie away from the door. She had her hands up to her ears to shield them from the noise. He pulled her close, this stranger, and held her against him. These sounds clearly frightened her.

"What's going on?" Dave shouted.

When the noise died down, a familiar sounding voice, shouted for them to get away from the door. Dave did so, wondering why, until the door exploded inwards.

He'd never heard a sound like it. Dave's ears were ringing as he stared at the door with a look of disbelief.

There was a lot of smoke. He could just make out two figures standing there. One of them stepped forward. He was a short pudgy man with thinning hair. He was wearing a black jacket and a tactical vest and he was holding a handgun.

The next minute and another figure was emerging from the smoke. "I told you to wait until I had checked out the room before-" John stopped talking when he saw Dave.

Dave looked him up and down. He certainly wasn't wearing a military issue uniform. Black pants, black boots, black shirt, black tactical vest. He also had an impressive looking weapon in his hand.

"John?"

John looked panicked. He looked between the short one and Jeannie and back to him again. "Dave?"

"Who's Dave?"

"My brother," John told the other guy.

Jeannie smiled. "This is Mer. My brother. The one I was telling you about."

Dave raised his eyebrows. "Meredith?"

Meredith raised his eyebrows. "It's Rodney to you." He gave John a stern look. "And to _you_ too!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist," John told him. "You guys okay?"

Jeannie nodded. Dave stood there dumbfounded.

"What's going-"

John raised a hand to silence him as he listened to his radio for a minute and then relayed back to them. "We've got this place secured. Come on, let's get out of here."

Dave followed his brother through unfamiliar hallways. There were bodies lying at their feet. He couldn't tell if they were dead, but from the way Rodney was shielding his sister's eyes, he had to guess that they weren't taking a nap.

When they were out in the open. Dave turned behind him to see that they were in a building downtown. Not to far from his house. Outside it was cold and rainy. Dave looked down at his bare feet and grimaced.

There was a van waiting for them. Several soldiers milling around. From what Dave could tell, John was the man in charge. He was giving out orders as he waited for an explanation.

"What's going on?"

"Let me get you some shoes," John told him and patted him on the shoulder, before walking off to the black van.

Dave waited and watched. He was at a loss to what to say and what to do.

"How did you find us?" Jeannie suddenly asked her brother. She hadn't noticed that Dave was within earshot; otherwise he was sure she would have regulated the volume of her voice.

Meredith…_sorry_…Rodney smiled. "When Caleb realised you were gone he called through to you know who and you know who contacted you know who and we, you know, and then after planes, trains and automobiles we arrived here and I tracked you with the you know what."

Dave watched Jeannie's expression morph into confusion. "Okay, I know the first three 'you knows' but I don't know what you mean by the last 'you know what'."

Mer-_Rodney_ rolled his eyes. "I thought we were related. You're supposed to be a genius! You know what I mean by the _you know what!"_

"I'm _not_ a mind reader."

"The subcutaneous transmitter you have-" and his words petered off at the end to Jeannie's disgruntled look. "Did I not tell you about that? I thought I told you about that."

"No," Jeannie said. "No you didn't! Where is it? How did you even-" she slapped his arm. "Meredith!"

"I could have _sworn_ I told you. Oh well. Remember the 'space jab' before your last visit to-"

An ambulance passed in the street and Dave missed that part. "-gave it to you. For exactly this reason!"

"But you could _have_ asked!"

"And have you get all paranoid about being watched."

"With good reason."

"Yes, _with_ good reason. Because I found you. You can say thank you anytime you want, by the way."

"I'm not sure I am comfortable with you spying on me!"

"Why would I want to spy on you? You'd just be doing boring mom things most of the time."

"Boring…mom _things_?"

"Yes," Rodney said with a flourish of his hand. "Cooking, cleaning, finger painting, reading stories about big red dogs… _that_ kind of thing."

"You're so dead, _Meredith!_"

Rodney smiled and crossed his arms. "You just don't like it because I was right to do it and-"

Another car raced passed with flashing lights and distracted, Dave tried to see where it was heading. It didn't look like it was stopping where they were.

When he turned back, Jeannie had broken away from her brother and was now talking to John as he searched the van. Jeannie reached up to John's arm and gave it a squeeze and then she hugged him tightly. Dave couldn't read his brothers reaction. He seemed upset. Not in an obvious way. Not in a way that anyone would know unless they were blood related. John smiled as Jeannie talked to him, nodded and then he was looking over to him.

Dave looked away.

Jeannie hadn't known about their loss. He guessed she was probably scathing John in the way siblings do when they're worried. He hadn't much experience of that. She, _they_, seemed closer to his own brother than he ever had.

When he turned around, John was standing there with a pair of military issue boots in his hands. "Here."

"Thanks."

Dave bent over to put them on and realised that John's feet were now bare, but for a pair of socks.

"Have your boots back," Dave said, pressing them into his brother's chest.

"I want you to have them." John told him, pushing them back. "I've got socks. _I'm_ fine."

"Are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Here, have the damn boots."

"No."

"Oh, he won't listen," Rodney said coming to stand beside them. "He'd rather get frostbite than take those back."

"It's not cold enough for frostbite," John snapped back.

"It's below freezing!"

"I don't feel the cold like you do. I'm not a girl."

"Hey!" Jeannie cautioned.

"No offence, Jeannie." John sighed.

"Just put them on your feet!" Rodney told him. "Your brother doesn't want them."

"Yes he does."

"No. I don't," Dave said.

John rolled his eyes. "_Fine_, I'll take them back. Just get in the van and we'll get you to safety."

Rodney smiled victoriously and Dave followed them to the van.

"You are going to tell me what's going on. Right?"

John licked his lip and turned away.

"John?"

"Just get in the van. I'll…..explain later."

Dave guessed that was as good as he was going to get.

John smiled and patted him on the back. "It's complicated, that's all."

Dave nodded and headed over to the van.

His brother and Rodney tried to get in the back at the same time. John waved a hand. "After you, _Meredith_."

Rodney glowered at him. "Cold showers for the next month."

"No coffee for two months."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" John teased.

"I'll change the codes to the armoury."

"I'll get Woolsey to make you have a day off!"

Dave didn't know what they were talking about. He followed and squeezed in beside Jeannie. While Rodney and John instructed the driver where to go, Jeannie took his hand and gave it a reassuring stroke.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I'm really sorry about what I said. You can see that he's okay. He has us."

Us. Yeah. He had _them_.

Dave didn't really know how he felt. He was numb. He didn't have a clue what was going on.

They'd been kidnapped and people were dead. Jeannie and her brother had been talking conspiratorially. John seemed almost…. _Relieved_ despite his initial shock at seeing Dave there.

He couldn't help but think back to their conversation in their cell. They hadn't been talking about her brother's friend. They had been talking about _John_.

John who had changed. John who had stepped in front of bullets and gave up his only pair of shoes. John who didn't tell Jeannie his father had died because he didn't want to upset her. John who hadn't told him anything because he didn't want to burden him. John, the little boy in the tree.

He might not understand, but he hoped one day he might be able to. After all, Jeannie had rediscovered her relationship with Meredith. Jeannie considered John as a brother. Perhaps Dave could get to know Colonel Sheppard.

"Dave?" Jeannie pushed.

"I think I will be," Dave said, holding onto her hand and not letting go.


End file.
